J.P. Sears’ debut start for the San Diego Padres did not go according to plan on Monday night.
Sears, who the Athletics dealt to San Diego the morning of MLB’s July 31 trade deadline, was looking to make a positive first impression against a new-look Arizona Diamondbacks lineup. But his first pitching appearance in a gold-and-brown uniform proved to be an ineffective one, as he took the loss in a start during which allowed 10 hits and five earned runs across five innings of action.
Just one day later, the Padres front office signified that they had seen enough of Sears for the time being by demoting him to the El Paso Chihuahuas, the organization’s Triple-A affiliate. Relief pitcher Sean Reynolds was promoted to the big leagues in a subsequent transaction.
Sears is the second Padres starting pitcher to be optioned to Triple-A in a span of three days, as Randy Vázquez was sent down on Sunday. The club’s rotation consists of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and Nestor Cortes Jr. for the time being.
Sears was one of many pieces the Padres acquired via trades last week in an attempt to bolster their roster for the back half of the 2025 season. He, along with fire-throwing closer Mason Miller, were acquired by the Padres in exchange for a package of four prospects: shortstop Leo De Vries (MLB Pipeline’s No. 3 overall prospect) and right-handed pitchers Braden Nett, Henry Báez and Eduarniel Núñez.
Prior to joining the Padres, Sears had pitched to a 7-9 record, 4.95 ERA and 1.27 WHIP across 22 starts with the A’s. His ERA and WHIP have since risen to 5.12 and 1.31, respectively, after Monday’s pitching appearance. Sears has also struck out 101 batters and walked 30 across 116 innings pitched this season.
